Tech Billionaires Will Be the End of Us

Quick story:

During my time in politics, I developed a strange relationship with a billionaire in my hometown/state who was a reactionary evangelical Christian. He shall remain nameless for now. This person reached out to me and seemed to view me as his “liberal but misguided” friend. While I never considered him a friend, we would periodically get together, and I considered interacting with him a good way to peer into the minds/views of those with whom I would be sparring in the electoral arena.

He was very interested in healthcare policy. Of course, his view was that we should let the “free market” solve all of our healthcare issues. I pointed out the fact that a free market would clearly price out certain people in our country from ever being able to afford quality healthcare. But the part that drove me nuts was his insistence that his philanthropy (and to his credit, he was one of the most – maybe even THE most - philanthropic person I ever met), and the philanthropy of other rich people, was sufficient to help solve the healthcare affordability crisis. If I remember correctly, among other items, he had donated a significant number of MRI machines to hospitals around the country.

My question to him then, and my question to our country now, is: Do we really want to rely on the beneficence of rich people, who have their own very personal priorities, to determine our societies goals and priorities? I asked him if he would be okay with someone like George Soros or even Warren Buffett setting our priorities via their financial wherewithal and donations. I think you know the answer he gave me. Yet he wouldn’t budge on his views.

The denouement: I finally lost it with him when he told me one day that “poor people” had too much influence on lawmakers and members of congress. I asked him if “poor people” donated to political campaigns or Super PACS and how did “poor people” influence elected officials. He had no rational answer; just out-of-touch rich person mumbo jumbo. I told him he was a hypocrite who professed to be a Christian but who ignored the literal fact that Trump regularly broke several of the Ten Commandments because Trump promoted the secular policies he wanted implemented. We never spoke again.